Shoe heel construction



Nov. 5, 1963 w, WALSH 3,109,246,,

SHOE HEEL CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 19. 1960 6/ 62 fig! //\/\/E/\/TO R: 54

WI]. 1. IBM J. WRLsH,

HTTORNE 6 United States Patent Ollice Patented Nov. 5, 1%63 3,109,246 SHOE HEEL CQNSTRUCTIGN William .l. Walsh, Rte. 2, Eureka, Mo. Filed Dec. 19, 1969, Ser. No. 76,740 3 Claims. (Cl. 36-34) The present invention relates to a type of shoe heel construetion, particularly to the type shoe heel which is hollow and has a top lift. The invention also includes a novel method of molding a hollow shoe heel.

Womens shoes are variously provided with heels of difierent lengths. Consequently, each seller of heels must be stocked to market a number of heels of every length which is in style and the manufacturer of shoe heels must have the facilities to provide the seller with such heels of different lengths.

Heretofore, the construction of these various heel lengths has required a corresponding number of different molds. This invention provides a method of heel construction wherein a single mold may be used and wherein the length of the heel is determined only by the particular core plunger used with the mold. For a shorter heel, the excess molded length beyond the plunger can be cut off.

Most, if not all, womens heels employ a top lift to absorb the wear of use. The instant invention provides a top lift which is readily replaceable when worn out or when otherwise desired. The top lift has a plurality of projections or fingers insertable through a hole in the bottom of the heel, the projections being pre-spmng to incorporate a locking action when so inserted. A resilient blocking member assists in maintaining the project-ions in a locking position.

One object of the invention is to provide a heel construction wherein only a single mold is necessary to construct heels of a number of different lengths.

A second object of the invention is to provide a mold for heel bodies with which a number of different sized core piungers may be used.

Another object of the invention is to provide a heel construction having a readily removable top lift, but which top lift is locked against involuntary displacement.

Further objects will become apparent from the more detailed description of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top view of a finished heel construction;

FIGURE 2 is a view in section taken along the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view in section taken along the line 3-3 of FiGURE 2;

IGURE 4 is a view in section taken along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a side view of the top lift;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the resilient block used with the top lift of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a view in section of the mold using the largest size core plunger possible in the particular mold;

FIGURE 8 is a view in section of the same mold, but with a smaller size core plunger; and

FIGURE 9 is a view in section of the core plunger alone, the one shown being intermediate in size between the plungers of FIGURES 7 and 8.

The instant heel is of hollow construction, and, in the preferred embodiment, of plastic, rubber or similar material. The hollow construction arises because of the desirability of producing as light a heel as is practically possible to form. An obvious advantage of the lighter heel is that the wearer will be less exhausted after a full days use.

Perhaps more importantly, the hollow heel presents a means of conserving the material used to construct such a heel. The amount of material saved in the formation of a hollow heel, compared to a conventional solid heel, may be even greater than the amount of material that forms the hollow heel. In any event, there is certainly a monetary saving which is important in the highly competitive heel art.

The heel has a rnain body 10 including a curved forward wall 11. The forward Wall 11 is curved adjacent its upper end 12, gradually blending into the lower sole structure of the shoe to which it is to be attached. (The shoe is not shown in the drawings.) The body also has a curved rear wall 14 spaced from the forward wall 11 by side walls 15. The continuous upper edge 16 of the walls 11 and 14 is shaped to (form the outer rim of the concave heel seat which prevails on most heels. The exact shape of the walls d1, 14 and 15 is not particularly important to the essence of the invention. It is recognized that the style of shoe heels changes at rather frequent periods. Therefore, the illustrated exterior shape of the heel is to be regarded as typical rather than limiting to the invention.

The thickness of the hollow heel body 10 is generally uniform. As a result, the inner surface of the heel body conforms somewhat to the corresponding shape of the outer surface just described. However, the upper forward portion 17 of the heel body interior is curved upwardly, as shown in FIGURE 2, to provide a vertical wall 18 for receiving an insert '19.

In the instant hollow heel, the heel seat within the rim 16 is defined by the insert 19. The insert 19 is formed with the shape clearly shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 so that it can be wedged within the upper converging interior surfaces of the heel body. A plurality of material saving slots 20 may be provided in the insert 19, if desired.

The lower portion of the instant heel is formed to cooperated with the novel top lift incorporated in this invention. For this purupose, the bottom wall 23 of the heel body has a hole 24 through it. The hole 24 has four side walls 25.

The invention includes. a top lift 26 specially formed to cooperate with the hole 24. The top lift has a base 27 and side walls 28. The shape of the side walls corresponds to the shape of the bottom wall 23 of the heel body as is common in the shoe art.

The top lift 26 has a plurality of fingers 29 projecting at right angles from its upper face. Each finger ZS terminates in an enlarged beaded portion 39 directed outwardly toward the edge of the top lift 26. It should be mentioned that the top lift 26 is constructed from a rather stiff material having a spring-like quality such that, when the fingers 29 are moved from their normal position illustrated in FIGURE 5, they will return to their normal positions as soon as the moving force is removed. There are many plastics and rubbers available which are suitable.

The fingers 29 are spaced from one another and are arranged to fit within the walls of the opening 24 through the bottom wall 23 of the heel body. As the fingers 2.9

are inserted into the hole 24, the walls will press the fingers inwardly because of the outward projection of the beaded portions 30. However, when the top lift is pressed against the bottom wall 23 of the heel, the beaded portions will project above the wall 23 and will snap outwardly to overlie the upper edges of the side Walls 25 that define the hole 24. In such position, the fingers 29 and their beaded portions 38 cooperate with the walls 25 to maintain the top lift 26 seated upon the heel body, notwithstanding the forces attendant with walking upon and otherwise abusing the heel seat.

Inasmuch as the top lift 26 is made of a spningy plastic or similar material, the fingers 29 could conceivably flex away from the shoulders of the bottom wall 23. To hold the fingers 29 against the walls 25 of the opening 24, a resilient insert 32 is provided. The insert 32, which may be of rubber, has four walls 33- corresponding to the number of fingers 29. The insert 32 is wedged between the fingers 29 so that the edges 33 will rest adjacent to the fingers 29 and hold them outwardly. Thus, the wedge 32 maintains the top lift 26 locked by means of the fingers 2d within the heel body. Of course, the extreme external force which would be applied to the top lift when it is desired to remove the same will be sufiicient to release the beaded portions 30 from their engagement with the bottom 23 of the body. Accordingly, when deteriorated, the top lift 26 may be replaced with a new one.

This invention, includes a unique molding process for producing a heel body of the type described. There is a mold having a cavity '40 with a shape and dimensions equal to those of the outside surface of the longest heel of a series. However, the mold may be used to produce any heel length from the longest aforementioned to the shortest.

The forward wall of the mold cavity 40' has a vertical portion 41 which does not directly contribute to forming the heel body except to permit the heel body to be formed substantially vertically irrespective of the slanting heel seat and to guide the plunger into proper position as will appear. The forward wall below the vertical portion 41 has a curved portion 42 corresponding to the curved portion 12 of the illustrated heel body 19. The curved portion 42 merges into the vertical portion '43 of the mold cavity.

The remaining walls 44- of the mold cavity are curved to conform to the shape of the sides 14 and 15 of the heel 10. The upper portions of the cavity walls 44 converge toward the front wall 43, and the lower portions 45 of the walls 44 are vertical, as is the front wall 43. It is this lower portion 45, which will vary in length with the various heel sizes and which may be cut off for a shorter heel.

The plunger 59 which is to define the inner surfaces of the heel body, has a vertical forward wall 51, a slanted portion 52, an S-shaped curved portion 53, and a vertical wall 54 along its front. The rearward walls 55 of the plunger 50 are curved and smaller in all dimensions than the corresponding rear walls 44 of the mold cavity. The bottom of the plunger has an extension 57 of reduced size for forming the hole in the bottom of the heel body.

A plate '60 is fastened by screws '61 and 62 to the plunger 50. The plate is larger than both the top of the plunger 5t and the top of the mold cavity 40 and limits the downward insertion of the plunger 50 into the cavity as the plate 60 becomes seated upon the top wall 63 of the mold.

The plunger 50, shown in FIGURE '7, is the longest size which may be used with the particular mold cavity illustrated. In FIGURE 8, the same mold cavity is shown, but with a shorter plunger 70. it can be seen that the plunger extends only to about the upper beginning of the vertical portion 43 of the mold cavity. This plunger 70 is for molding a shorter heel.

A residue 71 of the material from which the heel is 4 fonmed will be attached to the bottom of the heel bod after the plunger 70 is removed. After the heel is removed from the mold, the residue 71 is cut off along the plane of the bottom of the pin 57 to form a shorter heel body. It will be noted that the shorter heel body will have the top lift receiving hole 24.

It will be appreciated that any length plunger between that shown in FIGURE 7 and that in FIGURE 8 may be used according to the length of heel body desired. The various lengths are preferably in increments of oneeighth inch, which is the standard variation in heel heights. An intermediate length plunger is shown separate from the mold cavity in FIGURE 9.

To produce a heel body with the mold illustrated, a measured amount of molten heel material or substance is poured into the mold cavity. A plunger '50, 7t} or 80, to which a plate 60 is attached, is selected according to the desired length of the finished heel. While the heel material is still in a liquid state, the selected plunger 50,

70 or St) is inserted into the mold cavity until the plate 7 69 attached to the plunger becomes seated upon the upper surface 63 of the mold cavity. When in proper position, the forward vertical wall 51 of the plunger 50 lies against the wall 41 of the mold cavity.

The molten heel material is forced to fill the space between the mold cavity and the plunger before it solidifies. When the plunger 50, 76* or St is removed, the heel body may be lifted from the mold cavity. If a plunger shorter than the plunger 50 has been used, the residue 71 below the bot-tom of the pin '57 is cut off by a suitable saw and sanded to a smooth finish.

The heel body 10 will then be ready for use with other parts of the heel. The heel seat insert 19 is placed within the molded upper interior of the heel body 10 and secured thereto by a suitable glue or adhesive. I

Finally, the top lift 26is installed. *First the resilien blocking member 32 is placed centrally between the fingers 29 of the top lift. The top lift is then forcefully inserted from the bottom of the heel body so that the beaded portions 30 pass through the openings 24 in the heel body. The fingers 29 will snap apart when fully inserted and freed from the constraining forces of the side walls 25. When' the beaded portions rest upon the inner shoulder of the heel bottom, the top lift is locked in position and held by the resilient blocking member 32. It will remain in place until removed for replacement.

A feature of the invention is the fact that the variable heel size aspect of the invention does not interfere with the removability of the top lift. It should also be observed that each heel will fit the appropriate sized shoe because, although the heel-seat portion of a low heeled shoe is more nearly horizontal, the back of the heel is more nearly vertical. Therefore, the continuity of line along the back of the heel and the back of the shoe from the top lift to the top of the shoe is always maintained.

In this regard, it is recognized that there must be a slight deviation in the plane of the bottom wall 23 of the heel according to the height of theheel. This de viation will result in a slight slanted angle in the forward wall 1 1 of the heel. However, for a range in heel height of about four increments (for example 24/8, 23/ 8, 22/8, 21/ 8) the forward wall will still appear to be vertical. It is, therefore, contemplated that the invention might be practiced with a separate mold cavity 4% for each group of four plunger sizes.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawing have been given by way of illustration and example. It is also to be understood that changes in form of the elements, rearrangement of parts, and substitution of equivalent elements, which will be obvious to those skilled in the art, are contemplated as withinthe scope of the present invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.

7 What is claimed is:

1. A hollow heel having side walls, the heel having;

an opening through the lower end thereof; means surwedged into contact with all of the fingers for holding rounding the opening and forming a shoulder about the the Projections Onto the Shouldersperiphery of the opening irnnned-iately adjacent the lower References Cited in the fil f this patent end of the heel; and a tophft for the heel, the toplift UNITED STATES PATENTS having lntegral fingers extending through the opening 5 l and having projections overlying the shoulders, there 1,114,758 Haskell Oct 27, 1914 being at least four said fingers positioned to defin a Pearsqn et a1 1943 2,495,820 Peretti et a1; Jan. 31, 1950 substantial rectangle. 5

2 The device of claim 1 wherein the 0 will i m- Hfi 1953 P g 10 2,890,490 Morin June 16, 1959 Slded and erein there IS a finger fOI each side. 2 91 73 Beal 9 95 3. The device of claim 2 including a resilient block 2,918,737 Beal Dec. 29, 1959 

1. A HOLLOW HEEL HAVING SIDE WALLS, THE HEEL HAVING AN OPENING THROUGH THE LOWER END THEREOF; MEANS SURROUNDING THE OPENING AND FORMING A SHOULDER ABOUT THE PERIPHERY OF THE OPENING IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT THE LOWER END OF THE HEEL; AND A TOPLIFT FOR THE HEEL, THE TOPLIFT HAVING INTEGRAL FINGERS EXTENDING THROUGH THE OPENING AND HAVING PROJECTIONS OVERLYING THE SHOULDERS, THERE BEING AT LEAST FOUR SAID FINGERS POSITIONED TO DEFINE A SUBSTANTIAL RECTANGLE. 